“It used to be lonely being Indigenous in tech.” How one tech founder’s question led to a community of hundreds

A series of conversations that sprung from one question soon evolved into a vibrant community of more than 340 Indigenous tech leaders, founders, and professionals spread geographically across Turtle Island. 

The Indigenous Tech Circle, which officially became a non-profit entity on National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21st, 2024), now includes hundreds of members spread across the United States (US) and Canada. The group has monthly meet-ups and workshops, weekly intro sessions for new members, and curated teams within the circle for people working in similar companies or founders at similar stages of growth. 

“It used to be lonely being Indigenous in tech,” Indigenous Tech Circle founder Ryan St. Germaine told BetaKit in an interview. “For example, the first time Jeff Ward (CEO of Animikii) went to a Collision conference, he was the only Indigenous person there that he could find,” he shared. 

“Getting involved with great tech companies and having positions of influence, I think that will create systemic change.” 

Ryan St. Germaine
Indigenous Tech Circle

The serial entrepreneur, tech founder, and member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia also told BetaKit about another member, a software developer from Montana who—lacking someone to talk to about technology in his community— would start a conversation with ChatGPT. “Now he can connect with us,” St. Germaine said. 

The journey to organizing the Circle started with one question: where are the Indigenous tech people? 

“A lot of folks said to me there aren’t any, to which I respectfully responded ‘That’s bullshit’,” he shared. 

Wanting to connect with his Indigenous roots, St. Germaine went off to find and reach out to other Indigenous tech founders, entrepreneurs, and CEOs from Indigenous-led tech companies. “A core group of us started to come together, and then more folks started to come in,” he said. The initial circle of Indigenous founders and professionals continued to meet informally throughout the pandemic on a Slack channel. The Indigenous Tech Circle has now grown to include more than 340 members. 

For many, St. Germaine said, it’s difficult to show up as their whole selves, so the Indigenous Tech Circle is a space where they don’t have to explain themselves or what it means to be Indigenous in tech. 

“I think having a safer place where Indigenous people can show up and collaborate and ask, ‘how can we move things forward for us in a way that makes sense for us?’ is important,” he explained. “To be able to show up in that space with others is incredible.” 

Asked about the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples in tech, the BC Jobs co-founder said it all boils down to biases and systemic barriers. 

“We have less than one percent representation within the digital workforce and only .004 percent of VC investment goes to Indigenous-led companies,” St. Germaine said, adding that only .9 percent of Indigenous people are represented on executive boards. While he stresses that there are Indigenous people in tech, he said there are still not enough people in positions of power and influence. 

RELATED: Canadian tech must embrace Indigenous reconciliation

A study from the Toronto Metropolitan University’s Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has found that only 2.2 percent of the overall Canadian tech workforce is Indigenous. BDC Capital has found similar data when surveying Indigenous-owned venture firms.

“The problem is there’s a general mistrust,” he declared. “There’s been systemic racism, and it would be ridiculous to pretend that there hasn’t been.” 

According to St. Germaine, the bias in the existing system has made it challenging to grow the participation and representation of Indigenous people in tech. “I think there’s bias in our system, and there’s just a general mistrust of financial institutions, of academia, of governments, on the Indigenous side of things,” he said. “Huge systems suck. Trying to move them is brutal.” 

He added, however, that building meaningful businesses will be more effective in breaking down barriers than just “yelling at the problem.” 

“Getting involved with great tech companies and having positions of influence, I think that will create systemic change,” he explained. “I have definitively proven that it is bullshit [to say] that there are no Indigenous people in tech. We are here. We are succeeding. We have succeeded, and we need help to create the flame.” 

Images courtesy the Indigenous Tech Circle.